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Using Analytics to Enhance Your Resume

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5 years ago

This blog was written by Ariana Voyer, our Campus Ambassador at the University of Central Florida. Follow Ariana on Twitter @arianavoyer.

The tips you are told on making your resume the best it can be are keeping it organized with a layout that can be easily navigated, using the same tense for your verbs, and avoiding repetition. While those are certainly important, something that I think isn’t talked about as much is highlighting your accomplishments by showing proof in numbers through the use of analytics.

In order to understand the impact of numbers, ask yourself these questions if it applies to any of the positions you have held: If you win or place in a competition, how many votes did you receive? If you started a Facebook page from the ground up, how many likes do you have now? If you have a blog of your own, how many views do you have? If you hosted an event, how many people showed up? If you landed an awesome internship or won an award/contest, how many applicants applied? It’s the difference between a good bullet and an outstanding bullet on your resume that is guaranteed to get you noticed over other applicants. However, you do not want to overlook the possibility of embarrassment. Use your own judgment whether the number is high enough for what it is. In simpler terms, these numbers are proof that you went above and beyond the requirements and that your hard work improved the image of a brand, garnered public attention and turned out to be a personal achievement. In today’s society, internships and jobs are becoming more and more competitive to secure. Knowing the results you are capable of, why wouldn’t they want to hire you?

To dig a little deeper, if you took over the social media for a business, how much did your efforts increase sales? Since analytics has more recently become a booming trend, there are a variety of free resources to track your work from start to finish. Google Analytics, for example, is a great one! For Facebook, it is now remarkably easier with Facebook Insights, which does all the work for you by showing your reach and how many people are talking about your page. Since numbers can quickly change, make sure to do an update before submitting your resume to a potential employer.

The underlying tip to remember is this: don’t just say what you did, but say what the result was and prove it!